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Lathal
Description Physical Appearance Lathal is a tall human, standing at around 6'5". He is strong and broad, his build amplified by the armor he chooses to wear. His flesh is deathly pale and hardened in his mummification, looking somewhat akin to carved stone. It is marred with scars here and there, particularly on his chest, where he has sustained many would-be fatal injuries. The flesh on his ribs, fingers, and toes is attenuated to the point of the nearly skeletal. On his left shoulder, there is tattooed an Ouroboros. The Death Knight's long, dark hair is wizened with some grey in undeath. It is held back with a metal loop to keep it out of his eyes. His facial hair is kept in a full beard and mustache which seems fairly well tended to. His face has strong, dark, well-defined features with a looming brow good for frowning, the flesh about it tightened somewhat in undeath to give him a gaunt look. He has thick eyebrows and a deviated septum. His mouth is thin-lipped and usually held in a neutral position. But when he does smile, often around friends, his mouth is wide and exposes a pair of fangs: a mutation found in certain undead creatures attuned to the use of blood magic. Bran Lathal has a pet raven named Bran. He uses Bran to send messages over long distances. The raven is generally friendly, though rather greedy and proud, perhaps in exaggeration of his owner's traits. OOC: If one wants to contact Lathal IC from a long distance by mail, Bran is available as a means. Black Crusade Lathal's scythe is named Black Crusade. He began to create it at the beginning of the Legion's invasion and completed it after he acquired its Saronite core soon after Gul'dan's defeat at the Siege of Suramar. The weapon allows him to sustain himself on the blood of demons protected from the corruption of the Fel. Acherus Mk. 13.5 'Necrotic Boneplate' Armor Lathal's armor is built from ossified dragonbone, blackened truesteel, and raw saronite gemstones. It follows the model known as Necrotic Boneplate which was designed around the time of the Battle of Wyrmrest for knights sent to fight Deathwing and his eldritch allies. It provides bolstered protection against psychic attacks and helps facilitate Lathal's movement through the Shadowlands; however, it provides relatively less protection for its weight compared to other armors. Public History These are details which one would be able to find out by visiting and inquiring at various IC areas or institutions. Feel free to have your character know these things, though they are common sense limited by class and faction. Ebon Blade The following might be known by those who spend time around Acherus: The Death Knight was found and freed in Dragonblight during the war against the Lich King. Lathal is a Dark Rider of the Ebon Blade. He reports to Salanar the Horseman and is used as a shock and harassment troop in war because of his size and mobility. His capability is respected and feared, but he is not one of the most popular among the Ebon Knights because of his diplomatic attitude and skepticism of the REDACTED. He is a member of the Third Generation: Those who were released from the Lich King, not those who were raised free after the War in Northrend. Thus, he clashes with the more sadistic and authoritarian new order of Fourth Generation Knights who follow the example of the Deathlord. This is not to say by any means, however, that Lathal is some kind of humanitarian. He is a brutal fighter and destroys his enemies with little mercy, holding the philosophy that the most extreme options of battle should be taken for the good of ending the war more quickly, thus ultimately reducing suffering. He is also a chronic pillager and believes that everything not nailed down should be put to use by the victor. Horde Orgrimmar The following might be known by looking at the Orgrimmar Census: Lathal was seconded to the Hellscream Offensive by the Ebon Blade at the beginning of the War in Northrend. He served in the Tank Corps with some distinction. Undercity The following might be known by looking at the Undercity Census: Lathal was seconded by the Ebon Blade to the Forsaken during the span of time between the late stages of the War in Northrend and the War on Draenor. He was a member of the Royal Apothecary Society and distinguished himself after The Cataclysm during the conflicts with Gilneas, rising to the rank of High Apothecary and specializing in Necromancy. Soon after the War on Draenor began, however, Lathal left the Forsaken's service. His mind was wiped of classified information by Dark Cleric REDACTED and he was let go. Alliance Stormwind The following might be known by looking at the Stormwind Census: Lathal was seconded to The Alliance during the assault on Tanaan Jungle in the War on Draenor. He was also seconded to the Alliance several times during the conflicts of the Broken Isles against the Legion. The Stormwind Census would also say that Lathal belongs to the Arathorian line of Hrafnheim and that he owns a small plot of land in the mountains of Southern Arathi. Locked Files These are the details which one would most likely not know IC unless Lathal told your character directly or your character was present for certain events and witnessed Lathal first-hand. It is entirely possible that your character does know some of these details, but it's best to ask before acting on that in roleplay. Before Death Lathal's corpse is ancient; he lived around one thousand years ago during the age when the six kingdoms outside of Arathi were relatively new. He was born in the Arathi Highlands in a small fortified village in the southern reaches of the kingdom. It was an age when Arathi was weakening and its forces were spread thin; thus the village was often under siege by Forest Trolls given its location. The generation of his parents was also smaller than most due to a famine caused by blight. His father died at the hands of one of the trolls and one day, his village was overrun. As the trolls closed in, his mother, a warrior of the village, decided to abandon her comrades in arms and save her son and herself once it was clear all was lost. They fled to Dalaran and Lathal's mother managed to prove herself to the local inhabitants as a combatant, allowing her to find work as a sellsword. She was eventually employed by a noble family, which allowed her to afford a good education for her son. The young Lathal was educated and trained in both fighting and the arcane arts. He himself became a proficient fighter and loved to hunt on horseback; eventually, he was knighted due to his income and his sex which had prevented his mother from getting the title in that era. He continued on with his profession as a knighted mercenary and eventually, his mother died of an illness as people were wont to do in that era. At the age of twenty-eight, Lathal died too, in a hunting accident; he was thrown from his horse and suffered fatal head trauma which he sustained for a day or two comatose before passing on. Being a favorite of the house which employed him, he was well-preserved with magic and alchemical mummification and was put to rest in the catacombs outside the city. Wrath of the Lich King Eventually, after the Third War, Lathal's corpse was robbed from his grave near Dalaran by the Lich King's followers. His sarcophagus was transported to Northrend where he was raised as a Death Knight of the Third Generation soon before the beginning of the war. There, he worked as a smith of Saronite under the Scourge and then REDACTED. Months later, as the beginning of the War in Northrend, Ebon Knights found him wandering, weakened and emaciated, across the frozen planes of Dragonblight. They incapacitated him and freed his mind from the Scourge, later inducting him into the order. A relatively weak Death Knight, and one looking more akin to one of the Forsaken, he was seconded to the Hellscream Offensive. There, he was the gunner for a demolisher tank and honed his capabilities as a Death Knight, growing in power. Eventually, he would be seconded to the Forsaken and would join the Royal Apothecary Society. Cataclysm Soon after the Cataclysm, Lathal reached a major rank in the Royal Apothecary Society: that of a Plaguebringer. His power had increased by this time and he had become a skilled necromancer as well as a decent fighter. He was called upon to command troops during the Silverpine and Gilneas conflict; in this theater of war, his instincts as a weapon of destruction truly showed themselves as he helped wage a strong counter-insurgency in Lordaeron against the Worgen infiltrators. During this period, he became more invested in the Forsaken than the Ebon Blade, involving himself in various Forsaken military orders, including the Shadowreave Court and the Hand of Vengeance. Mists of Pandaria Lathal would be called to Pandaria along with much of the Horde military. At this point, he had grown in necromantic power to the extent that he had more control over his own essence of undeath. His ability to discipline himself against his own curse had increased, allowing him to be more level-headed and less bloodthirsty. At least, this is what he will tell you. Perhaps people simply change. In any case, Lathal would travel Pandaria, learning what there was to learn from the Lorewalkers and Shado-Pan about history and war. He would later take part in the Siege of Orgrimmar as a medic. During this period, he would also lose his best friend, REDACTED, to Hellscream's purges, and his wife, REDACTED, to battle with the Mogu. Perhaps these losses also played some part in his mellowing. Warlords of Draenor During the first part of the War in Draenor, Lathal was employed by the Forsaken order known at the time as the Legion of Vengeance. However, seeking increased independence, he would split from the Forsaken as detailed previously and become a mercenary again, out to make wealth on Draenor. Due to the Ebon Blade's lack of activity at the time, he was kept on a long leash to pursue what he wanted. As it turned out, what he wanted was gold- and gold he made, selling his sword to the various factions of the orcish home-world to fight the Iron Horde and pillaging what he could of Grommash's treasure. With this gold, he would rebuild an ancient tower in the southern Arathorian mountains on property which belonged to his family and still did after all those years. Legion Lathal joined the Modan Company shortly before the Legion's invasion. Afterward, he would distinguish himself in battle during the invasion of the Hinterlands, using a siege tank to strike the killing blow, and many decisive blows, against a Fel Reaver Mk. II. The Wildhammer Dwarves still allow him access to their siege arsenal to this day. He would then be sent to the Broken Isles. There, he continued his career as a soldier of fortune, fighting alongside the Vrykul in Stormheim whom he aided in liberating individuals from Helheim. In Helheim, he found the spirit of a dead Vrykul navigator who gave him a map to what he claimed to be buried treasure. He did not have time to seek this treasure immediately, for he was called upon by his order to harass the patrols and arcwine shipments of enemy Nightborne in Suramar. Once Suramar was taken, Lathal would seek the treasure. This brought Lathal to a frozen undead Vrykul deep beneath Northrend by the name of Brynjolf Blood-Drinker. The treasure was Brynjolf's heart: an organ made of Saronite which, when forged into Lathal's weapon, allowed him to consume the blood of demons without fel corruption. Lathal's adventures were cut short again, however, as the Ebon Blade began to rally their forces at the Broken Front where he helped hold the line. Presently, he fights on Argus. In Modan Company Lathal serves in Modan Co's Security Division. He has the current rank is Specialist. His decent skill with a blade and heavy armor, combined with his eldritch lore and talent for dark magic, makes him an ideal defender against supernatural foes. Because of the psychological wards inherent to all Death Knights, he is utilized by the Company as a tool and something of an artifact in and of himself due to the age of his mummified corpse for the handling of certain artifacts that would potentially afflict the mind. Category:Specialist